Friday 15 March 2013

The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks


Pages: 252
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 7th March 2013
Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Martyn Pig, Lucas, Kissing the Rain, Bloodline, Candy, The Road of the Dead, Being, Black Rabbit Summer, Killing God, iBoy, Naked

I can’t believe I fell for it.

It was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was.

A low-ceilinged rectangular building of whitewashed concrete. There are six little rooms along the main corridor.

There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out. What’s he going to do to me? What am I going to do?

If I’m right, the lift will come down in five minutes.

It did.

Only his time it wasn’t empty...

This is going to be an extremely vague and very likely short review as there is so much in this book that I don't want to give away. I definitely don’t want to ruin one of my favourite books this year for you.

Within only a few pages of starting The Bunker Diary I was drowning in questions: why Linus? What is the kidnapper doing? Why is he doing it? Will he let them go? I really think the almost stream of consciousness diary format of the novel made these questions even more poignant and prominent. This is the type of novel that could only be truly successful when written in one particular format and Kevin Brooks nailed it.

The Bunker Diary contains a vivid and conflicting cast of fantastically drawn characters, of which only a few are actually likable in any way. Each of them handled their imprisonment so differently and I began to wonder how I would react in that situation and I realised that it’s one of those things you can never know until the situation presents itself. Hopefully I never find out! Kevin brooks opens up questions about a person’s true nature and the extremes it forces you to.

As with all of Kevin Brooks’ novels, The Bunker Diary is challenging and thought-provoking and it certainly made me question some things. At some point I even began to wonder if the kidnapper had taken on the role of a metaphorical god or a higher power with complete control. Maybe I was way off or maybe it is a metaphor for something, but I’m not quite sure yet. It was also interesting to see how the media presented the kidnappings and how they treated different members of society in different ways. I’d honestly never really thought about it before.

The Bunker Diary is Kevin Brooks at his best; back to his Lucas and Candy glory. An incredibly powerful novel that’s hands down one of the best I’ve read in a while.


Thanks to Penguin for sending me a copy for review.

Sophie 

3 comments:

  1. I've heard such great things about this book and, although it isn't something that I'd usually pick up, I definitely want to try it now. So glad you liked it! :)

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  2. I had to close this one a few times because I was scared of what would happen. Such a great book though.

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  3. I'm really intrigued by this now - definitely going to give it a try now!

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